Trojans Score Late, Thwart Arkansas State Rally

Saturday, September 25

Troy, Ala.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

Arkansas State

Photo by: Kevin Glackmeyer

Trojans Score Late, Thwart Arkansas State Rally

9/25/2010 8:02:37 PM | Football

Troy answered a late score of the Red Wolves with one of their own for the victory

By: Troy Media Relations

Box Score | Notes | Troy Quotes | Arkansas State Quotes | 1st Half Photo Gallery | 2nd Half

TROY, Ala. - After an extremely long and difficult Saturday of football, the Troy Trojans found themselves staring at a one-point deficit to Arkansas State with just 49 seconds left in the game and 67 yards of soggy turf to cover.

After playing four straight games decided in the final seconds, including consecutive last-second losses in the last two weeks, a lot of teams would have simply accepted their fate. The Trojans, however, did not do that.

Freshman Corey Robinson led the team on a five-play drive that used just 28 seconds off the clock to scoring the winning points in a 35-28 Trojans victory over the Red Wolves in the Sun Belt Conference opener for the four-time defending league champions.

The win was Troy's 11th straight in league play as was the Trojans' 12th consecutive victory at home, a streak that runs Troy coach Larry Blakeney's career mark at Veterans Memorial Stadium to 87-11-1 in 20 seasons.

“We were on the deck and I thought our guys did a good job of trying to get themselves off the deck,” Blakeney said. “They played well enough and hard enough to win a conference game, and this was one of those kind of games. It was a conference game and it was very valuable. There is still no team that has ever beaten us twice in that stadium, and Arkansas State already had one going into tonight, and they almost got their second one.”

What kept the Red Wolves (1-3, 1-2) from getting that second win in Troy was picture perfect execution of the two-minute offense and an equally picture-perfect pass from Robinson to sophomore running back Shawn Southward for the winning touchdown.

Still, the key to the final scoring drive for the Trojans (2-2, 1-0) was the opening play, a 30-yard catch-and-run by senior Jerrel Jernigan on a simple drag route across the middle.

“What a great call on the first play of the drive,” Blakeney said. “We threw the little shallow route to Jerrel and gave him a chance, knowing they were going to be playing off trying to defend the deep balls. We caught him underneath and he makes the most out of every one of his chances. He really got it almost into field goal range on one play and then stepped out of bounds to stop the clock.”

Jernigan had a career day for the Trojans, piling up 209 receiving yards on 10 catches and accounting for 211 all-purpose yards.

“As soon as (Arkansas State) scored, I told the offense to get ready,” Jernigan said. “We had plenty of time. We have 50 seconds, and we do the two-minute drill every day at practice. I knew we were ready for it. I told Corey and all the other receivers and skill positions that big-time players make big-time plays. That's what we did. We went out there and made some plays and got the ball down the field.”

Following the 30-yard completion to Jernigan, Robinson hit Jason Bruce for a 10-yard gain and followed up with another pass to Jernigan for 10 yards to the ASU 17. After throwing the ball away on first down from there, Robinson rolled to his right and hit Southward for the winning touchdown.

“It's a little play we've got called I-spot, and they blitzed,” Robinson said. “I should have hit Bruce, but they got a little pressure, and I saw Shawn covered by the defensive end. He's going to win that battle most of the time because Shawn is a good player for us. There's not many guys in this country that can cover our guys.”

Junior Jamie Hampton came in and threw to Jernigan for the two-point conversion to make the lead seven-points, in case the unthinkable happened again.

The defense made sure there would not be a replay of the final seconds at UAB when Kanorris Davis and a host of others sacks ASU quarterback Ryan Aplin, allowing the clock to run out.

Robinson had another solid performance for the Troy offense, completing 18-of-28 passes for 316 yards and two scores. He did have an interception in the first quarter during a 90 second stretch that included three turnovers.

Lost in the dramatics of Troy's come-from-behind victory was the fact that Arkansas State battled back after a one hour and 45 minute weather delay late in the first half to outscore the Trojans 21-6 down the stretch.

ASU completed its comeback from a 21-7 deficit by rolling down the field with a perfectly executed drive. The Red Wolves covered 77 yards in 11 plays and used 3:06 off the game clock before Aplin hit Alen Muse for a 30-yard TD pass. The only negative for the Red Wolves on the drive was leaving too much time left on the clock.

“Obviously, I am upset about the way the game ended tonight,” ASU coach Steve Roberts. “We had a chance to be one of the few teams to come in here and get a win. We had the opportunities in more than just the last 50 seconds but, of course it comes down to 50 seconds. You have to give Troy credit, coming off of what they did last week, to be able to come back and win a game like this – they gave a good ball club.”

The Trojans jumped on top on just the third play of the game when Jernigan hauled in a pass from Robinson and went 70 yards for a score.

After a series of turnovers for both teams, the Red Wolves used an 11-play drive to cover 74 yards to knot the score at 7-7 mid-way through the opening period.

Troy came right back with its longest drive of the young season, covering 92 yards in 15 plays and 5:49 off the clock before Hampton hooked up with Tebiarus Gill from three yards out for the touchdown.

The Trojans pushed their lead to 21-7 mid-way through the second quarter with another long drive. This one covered 86 yards in 12 plays, with only one completion in the drive. Sophomore Chris Anderson, who had a team-high 74 yards rushing, covered the final four on the drive for his first Troy touchdown.

With 3:04 left in the half, lightening chased both teams from the field for what turned out to be an early, two-hour, halftime.

After the delay, Arkansas State needed just five plays to cover 59 yards, scoring on a 14-yard run by Jermaine Robertson with 1:26 left in the half. But, that little bit of time was enough for Troy to get into field goal range, and Michael Taylor converted from 27 yards out to give the Trojans a 24-14 lead after two quarters.

With the game having been delayed for almost two hours, halftime lasted about three minutes, but neither team was able to dent the scoreboard in the third quarter.

Troy got another field goal from Taylor, this one from 43 yards, early in the fourth quarter before Arkansas State began the march back.

The Red Wolves used a 10-play drive and scored on a four-yard jump pass from Aplin to Kedric Murry with 9:26 to play, cutting the Troy lead to 27-21.

The Trojans will now get a couple of days off to rest and recuperate before turning their focus toward the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee and the “Battle for the Palladium”. That game is set for Tuesday night, October 5, in Murfreesboro.

“I think this team is going to get better,” Blakeney said. “That doesn't mean we are going to win every game, it doesn't mean that we are going to win the next game, but I think that we are going to get better.”